Starbucks…Rand…Thibodeau – or – A Tempest in a Tea Pot?

The “news” is that Starbucks is modifying their logo. In case you missed it, there is an article about the new Starbucks logo in the Week in Review section of today’s New York Times. Here’s what Steve Heller of the Times has to say:

The decision set off a wave of criticism from designers, much like the Gap logo fiasco last year. Gap unveiled a new logo so bland that the companywas bombarded with complaints and scrapped it.

Why does such a small change create such alarm?

Fear of change may have something to do with it. Trademarks and logos are so integrally linked to our daily lives that any tinkering with the familiar is suspect — and to be avoided.

And altering the symbolic public face of a corporation is often accompanied both by unreasonable expectations of success and by superstitious resistance. [emphasis added]

It seems like a rather overblown reaction to the change that Starbucks is making. Heller then goes on to quote Paul Rand about creating and updating logos. Rand was the person responsible for the IBM, Enron and UPS logos, among others.

So who is right, Starbucks or the critics?

For a more informed opinion I turned to our chief creative officer. Here is what Michael Thibodeau has to say on the subject:

Having redesigned one of Paul Rand’s logos (UPS) I know from personal experience the “superstitious resistance” to change. Ignore the cave dwellers. The update shows that Starbucks can celebrate its past without having to be stuck in it. — Michael Thibodeau